Time Twisted Drummer
by Mikkie Cobalt
Summary: Well, this has absouletly nothing to do with the new jedi order, but I like Star Wars, so that's why I picked the category. This is an original story about Benjamin Drake, a Revolutionary Drummer brought to the 21st century. I hope that you'll like it..
1. Chapter 1

"Eric! What did you do?"

I have said this a lot. Really, it's not wonder, my brother (that would be Eric) is a total genius. It's really hard to compete sometimes.

His room is so cluttered, with all his experiments, chemistry sets, his hamster, his frog, and… Either a dirty sock or mom's old casserole, I couldn't tell which.

"I didn't mean to!" Eric snapped at me, "Look, Lissie, my time machine WILL work, AND in time to help mom finish her book!"

"Okay… You do that… And DON'T call me Lissie, oh, and is that mom's old casserole or your dirty sock?"

"That would be her casserole."

"Mind to tell me why genius?"

"Mom's a writer, not a cook, besides; you can't say you LIKE it."

"I normally feed it to the cat."

"Exactly, I use it as a type of glue, if it's moldy enough."

"I don't even want to know, and they say you're a genius? I find that VERY hard to believe."

"Well, believe it." Eric had been spoiled by the fact that he was a good looking dork. Other wise he would have been beat up, but he never was, because…the girls thought he was cute. And they apparently like the fact that he could help them with their homework. He has brown hair that is always flopping into his face, and blue eyes, and he happens to be tall. I think I hate him. Ever since last week he's been acting all weird…weirder than you know, usual. He's been like, insulting me a lot more! Like, he's a whole lot more irritable, but I haven't really done anything to trigger it…it's almost like…he transferred anger or…sadness to me! I really do think I hate him.

The next day, I walked into Eric's room, seeking math homework help, but… He wasn't there! Knowing he was probably in his lab, I walked into his closet and pressed a button I wasn't supposed to know about, the closet wall opened to reveal Eric's "secret" lab. I'd been leaning against the wall, and fell onto the floor.

I saw Eric trying to slip into a machine not too far from where I was laying on the floor.

"Oh no you don't!" I shouted, "I'm coming too, wherever you are going."

"Why should I let you come?" Eric laughed, "What help could you possibly be?"

"Well… I won't tell mom that you have this secret lab, yet."

"She already DOES know but…fine, you can come, but DON'T get in my way."

I rolled my eyes, "So, where ARE we going?"

"We're going to 1775."

"The Revolutionary War?!"

Eric sighed, "Yes, Alyssa, the revolutionary war."

Eric started up the machine, and in a flash of light, we were dropped from the sky onto a large battlefield. Eric dusted himself off, and then darted off into some trees to our right. I just stood up and looked around, dazed. I could barely believe what I was seeing, something was getting closer, and closer to me, but I couldn't see through the fog well enough to tell what it was.

It got within about five feet of me I could finally tell that it was a boy with a drum and some drum sticks. "Get down!" he shouted to me, "What are you standing around for?"

"What?" I mumbled, still half dazed, "What are you talking about?"

That's when he tackled me quite a few feet away from where I had originally been standing.

"What the HELL did you do THAT for?" I was NOT dazed anymore. The boy simply turned me around and pointed to where I had been standing. Nothing happened, and then suddenly, it blew up, out of nowhere!

"Oh," I mumbled, "Thanks. Thanks a WHOLE lot."

"I take it you're not a very coordinated person. What are you wearing?" I looked down at my jeans, camouflage shirt, and converse, I didn't see any problem with it…but I could see how he might think that.

"Err, um jeans…and camouflage."

"All right then." He bent down over me, and examined my arm, "You're hurt!" I hadn't noticed that my arm was bleeding, I must have scratched it, on a stick or a rock or something when we hit the ground. He pulled off the bottom of one of the legs of his uniform pants, right above the hem. He ripped the stitching that held it in a ring-type circle, and tied it around my arm.

"You look too young to be a soldier."

"Well, that's because I'm not. I'm a drummer. I drum in the war. It's the only position my mother was comfortable with."

Eric ran out from the trees right then, grabbed hold of my hand, and pressed a button on his watch. In a flash of light, we were back inside his lab….

But so was the boy.

"Eric! We've GOT to take him back!"

"No! I'm going to take him to mom, so he can help her with that book."

"Why don't you ask HIM what HE wants to do?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes! It does! So….what's your name?"

"My name is Benjamin Drake," he said with a British accent, "Where am I?" The look on his dirt-smeared face seemed confused. A look crossed Eric's face, one of partial recognition. He didn't look happy, however.

"You're in my bone-head brother's lab Benjamin."

"I prefer to be called Ben. Lab, what's a lab?"

"Uh…. I couldn't really tell you…. But Sir Geek probably can."

"Sir Geek?" Benjamin asked, "Who is Sir Geek? Is he British, because I fight for freedom and justice!"

"And how old are you?" Eric asked Ben.

"I'm fifteen!"

"You're younger than I am!" The look of confusion or disgust (I couldn't tell which) spread across Eric's eighteen year-old face.

"You never did tell me more about Sir Geek."

"Geek is a term we use, like….nerd." I said, not explaining it too well.

"Nerd?"

This is going to be SO hard.

About twelve minutes later (after debating it quite a bit), we took him to mom…

"Eric! How did you DO this?"

"I built a time-machine… I already told you that!"

"No, why did you do it?"

"I wanted to help you with the book."

"This can change the course if history! As a genius, I thought you'd KNOW that!"

"Okay… Let's go take him back!"

We all stepped into the time machine, and Eric started it up, but this time all it did was sputter and pour out smoke.

"I guess it's a one time only type thing." Eric laughed.

"Eric, this is NOT funny! You will FIX this." My mother snapped at him, "And as for you, you'll need to fit in. It's time for you to get a haircut."

A look of horror spread across Ben's face. Apparently, even he could understand what it means when you put "hair" and "cut" together to form "haircut".

"Isn't there ANY other way to fit in?" Benjamin almost begged my mom not to cut his long blonde hair, tied behind his head in a blue ribbon type string, and it curled slightly against at the ends. His hair was also extremely dirty looking.

"Yes. But since you are staying in my house, I have to say that…I am just disgusted with haircuts that make people mistake boys for girls, their hair looks gross. So does your at the moment."

Benjamin looked like he had just swallowed something horrible, but he said nothing and followed us into the car.

As soon as we walked into the salon Benjamin stopped, almost as if he was putting on the brakes or throwing up the red flag…. It required Eric's assistance to PUSH him to the barber's chair.

"No! Not my hair! Not my long blonde hair!!!!" He was crying now, which was pretty funny to see, seriously, when else will you be able to see a fifteen-year-old boy's cries? Most likely it won't be in this lifetime.

"Benjamin, we're not cutting off ALL of it… Just enough to make it look like you're from THIS century." My mother assured him; she grabbed a hairstyle book from the rack and flipped it open to a page showing a boy with feathered hair, "You'll look like this… Only, your hair is blonde."

"But…it's so….short!"

"It could be worse," I whispered to him as I pointed to a kid with a buzz cut sitting with his mom, "You could look like THAT."

Ben looked even more horrified, "I'll take the first option."

About twenty minutes later Benjamin hopped out of the chair and looked down to find all of the hair that had been cut off, on the ground, the poor boy looked like he was about to puke (I've had that feeling… It's whenever Eric comes back from running around the block and is all sweaty. I think I'm getting sick right now just from thinking about it!).

After the salon, we went through Eric's closet, so Ben would have some clothes that DIDN'T have laces. He didn't fit in any of Eric's current pants, so Eric found some that he'd grown out of…Ben was significantly smaller around the waist than Ben. Clothes that I hadn't seen Eric wear in years, but that he somehow still had, fit Ben now.

With his new haircut and clad in quicksilver, Benjamin almost looked normal. Well, okay, he did.


	2. Chapter 2

When we got home my mom said, "Alyssa, please show Ben to guest room where he'll be staying."

Considering that my room is next to the guest room, I'm guessing this will affect me somehow. I am SO happy.

I found out how this would affect me at about… five thirty the next morning. Groggily, I woke up at glanced at my alarm clock, it hadn't gone off yet. "Rat-tat-tat. Rat-tat-tat" Ben's drum sang out his "tune" from inside the guestroom walls, it must have been what woke me.

"Ben! Sleep in for God's sake!" I yelled to him through the walls, "Be a normal person!!!"

"I am normal!" he yelled back to me all the while still beating his stupid drum.

"Not for this century! In this century, normal people don't usually get up before dawn!!!"

Later (about six thirty) I made some ham and cheese omelets for Ben, Eric, and I.

"What is this?" Ben pointed at the omelet with disgust.

"It's an omelet!" I replied, "It's good, try it!"

"I don't think I want to."

"Okay, well, you can eat it…. Or we can go back to the salon and get the rest of your hair cut off. Take your pick."

"Hey! Even I know that's a threat!"

"No, actually its black mail….I think"

Ben reluctantly picked up his fork and tore off a piece of the omelet and dropped it into his mouth-all the while giving me a pure loathsome look- when I saw his Adam's apple bob, signaling that he had swallowed, his face lit up in an ear-to-ear smile.

"This is pretty good…" and he started to shovel in lots of omelet into his mouth. "Mission accomplished," I thought to myself, but suddenly, Ben dropped his fork and started to grab at his throat, the universal sign for choking.

"Oh my God, Alyssa, you've killed him!" Eric said, not all that alarmed, he glared at Ben, actually, obviously trying to be subtle.

"I have not!" I ran over to Benjamin and pounded on his back, a piece of omelet flew across the dining room and stuck to the wall.

"Okay, THAT was gross… I never want to see ANYTHING like THAT again, or anything that comes out of any mouth ever again." Eric mumbled to himself, still looking at Ben with that weird look in his eyes.

"That 'omelet' as you say, was VERY well-prepared." Benjamin said right before shoveling omelet back in again.

No matter where, or when, they come from, boys will still be boys. Go figure.

After breakfast, I decided I could use the extra shut-eye. So I climbed back into to bed, where arms of warmth engulfed, me and I fell instantly asleep.

"Alyssa! Psst, Alyssa, please wake up! Alyssa!" I felt a sharp pain to my side along with this unwanted wake-up call.

"Huh?" I mumbled, half asleep, I opened my eyes to see Benjamin about two inches from my face, "What do you want, Ben?"

"There's a demon in my closet." He mumbled, his big brown eyes were big and full of fear.

"A demon?" I laughed, it was like having an older, little brother (that didn't make any sense, did it?), "Really, what did it look like?" I was trying to tease him…but I don't think he caught it.

"REALLY ugly and it had red eyes!"

"Oh, you mean Eric's in your closet?"

"No! But can you get it to leave?"

"Sure, I wasn't doing anything THAT important, just sleeping." I don't think Ben caught the hint of sarcasm in my voice though. I have the feeling that my sarcasm will just be wasted on him.

I led the way to the guest room closet, I started toward the handle to open it, but Ben cried, "No, Wait!" he jumped onto the bed, and backed up all the way to the headboard, then he gave me the okay to open the door.

I rolled my eyes and knelt down to open the door.

With a mighty (and not scary in the least) meow, Eric's cat Cuddles leaped out of the closet, and I caught him in my arms.

"See? I TOLD you there was a demon!" Ben said, still backed up to the headboard. How the hell did he survive in that war?

"That isn't a demon," I laughed, "This is Eric's cat, Cuddles."

"Cuddles?!" Ben stepped down from the bed and came closer to the cat in my arms, "There is NOTHING cuddly about that cat! That is the UGLIEST cat that I have EVER seen!"

"Yeah, I agree," Cuddles scratched my arm, trying to get away, he HATES to be held, "And the meanest. I had a problem with the name too."

About an hour later, my best friend, Katie Marcell, called me, "Hey, Alyssa. I'm having problems with the history assignment; I'm going to come over so you can help me."

I was about to tell her no, but she had already hung up.

Ben ran into the living room right then, he jumped over the couch and crouched down near my foot.

"Benjie! Give it BACK! I NEED THAT!" Eric screamed as he ran into the living room as well.

"Yeah," Benjamin said, popping up from his hiding spot, "And I need you to stop calling me Benjie! Call me by my name!"

"Okay. I Promise I won't call you Benjie, I will, from now on, call you by your name," Eric said as he reached for the test tube in Ben's hand.

"That's better." Ben handed him the test tube, and looked at Eric, waiting for thanks.

Eric started running, "Thanks, Benjamin!" he shouted from the hallway.

Ben did not look anywhere near happy, "Oh! He REALLY gets me angry."

"You're telling me!" I replied, grabbing the back of his shirt as he tried to run after Eric, "It's no use, Ben, you've been duped. You're not going to get him to call you what you want, I have barely been able to my whole life, don't assume you'll be one of the lucky few he'll actually listen to."

Just then, the doorbell rang, signaling Katie's arrival.

I opened the door, and Katie saw Ben sitting on the couch, and she said, "Oh! Somebody FINIALLY got a boyfriend. I don't see how you managed to get one but, none the less, he is kind of cute." Ben seemed a little bit alarmed, but he tried to hide it from his face.

"What!?" I yelled, "BOYFRIEND? Ben is NOT my boyfriend; he's a friend of Eric's"

Ben then gave me a look that (if he was from OUR century) said, "Are you on CRACK?" But seeing as he probably doesn't know what crack IS… I'm guessing that's not exactly what he meant by it….

"Oh, well, what's he doing down here?'

"Waiting for Eric, you can just go up to his room."

"Okay…" Ben said, as he turned and walked down the hallway, playing along obviously without a clue.

"All right," Katie continued, "About the report, I have NO idea WHAT I'm supposed to be doing, so will you do it for me?"

"If I do it for you, you won't be learning anything, it'll be beside the point!"

"It's not like history ACTUALLY matters."

"Actually, Katie, it does, the reason we learn History is so we don't repeat it."

"See? That's why YOU should do it FOR me, you actually know why we do it!" and with that, she handed me her subject idea, and left.

Ben popped up from behind the couch, scaring me out of my wits, "Why did you let her DO that?" he yelled, and he seemed to be mad at me…. But you know, I couldn't tell (yeah, NOT!).

"She's my best friend; I'm basically just helping her."

"Helping her would be showing her how to do it so she'll understand; helping her is not doing it FOR her."

"But… then she won't want to be friends with me, I've been helping her with math, and English…"

"She's using you, and even I can tell it."

"But… She needs help with school…"

"Then you should help her find a tutor, like, what about Eric? I'm sure he'll have some time on his hands. Ask if he can tutor her…. You shouldn't be doing all her work FOR her… It's not right. Meanwhile… You need to concentrate on doing YOUR work, so, what's this whole report about?"

"We're supposed to do a report about someone who made a difference in the course of history."

"Oh… I guess I can't help you, the last time I was in my right century, and we were still British."

"Wait…" I just had a BRILLIANT idea… "What did YOU do for the war?"

"I was a drummer, why?"

"I can ask my teacher if I could do the report on YOU!"

"But will she believe you?" Benjamin just looked at me, like I was crazy….yeah, the boy who's _cried_ because of his hair, and been scared of a _cat_…thinks _I'm_ crazy!

"She will if I bring you along… In your uniform…"

"But…" Ben looked down at his quicksilver shirt and jeans… "I like wearing these better, actually."

"Then I'll bring you, and you can show her the uniform."


	3. Chapter 3

So the next day (which was Monday) I brought Benjamin to school with me, saying he was foreign exchange from England, and lots of girls were looking at him and giggling, I guess they thought he was cute… At lunch, we went in to see my history teacher, Mrs. Watson.

"Mrs. Watson, can I do my report on Benjamin Drake?"

"Why? He's standing here, he couldn't possibly be from the past… Could he?"

"Actually, he is… Eric built a time machine…" I spewed off the whole story, while Ben looked around the room, squinting to see some of the far away posters and details, it began to make me winder if he needed contacts or something…but then again, I've got great vision, and I can't always see the far away stuff…I'm wandering again, aren't I?

"How do I know he's really from the past?"

"Ben, show her the uniform." Ben pulled it out of his back pack, and Mrs. Watson seemed convinced, and in awe…

"How did you get this?" she asked him, and he looked at her like, "where've you been for the past ten minutes?"

"Can I keep it?" she asked, and he looked at her like she was crazy.

"Um, no, I'll need it for when I go back…" he replied, taking it from her hands and putting it back in his backpack.

"Yes, I suppose you can do the report on Benjamin."

As he and I were walking outside, Katie and her "crew" (that don't hang out with me), stopped us in he hallway, "So," Katie started, "Have you started my report yet?"

"Actually, Katie, I'm not doing the report."

"What?" she said disbelievingly. "What did you say to me?"

"I'm going to not doing the report. I need to concentrate on doing a great report for myself."

"But I still need help with my schoolwork!"

"Good thing I asked my brother if he could tutor you. He said he'd do it by the way."

"There is no way I'll hang out with a computer nerd."

I pulled them to a trophy case in the hallway, pointed to a trophy with "Eric Diamond" engraved on it, with a picture of Eric with it framed hung just to the side of the trophy. "HE so doesn't LOOK like a computer nerd!"

"This only proves that you can look great and still be smart, like you can be if you really try."

"But… I thought you were my friend…. YOU'RE supposed to help me!"

"Friends aren't supposed to use friends. Which means we're not friends anymore, not like we ever were anyway. Feel free to call and ask my brother for help."

With that, Ben and I walked away, and I said to him, "Great, now I don't have a friend."

"She was never really your friend, and yes, you do." He replied.

"Oh yeah? Who are they, then?"

"Me. I really respect you for doing that, it must have been hard, I'm proud of you." Ben looked completely serious, I could tell from his expression on his face that he was.

"It's fixed!" Eric yelled as we stepped through the door the next day, "You can go home tomorrow, Benjamin!" Eric practically kissed Ben flat out on the lips he looked so happy, but with Eric's rising happiness, my heart sunk lower and lower, I didn't want to lose my first, and only, real friend. My mind was racing as we walked up to the lab, so Eric could run some more tests, I came up with a plan, it was dirty, and deceitful…. But it was the only one I had.

That night, I snuck up to Eric's lab, slipped through the secret door, and headed to the time machine, arms raised, with an old hammer I had found earlier in the garage. I sighed, I didn't want to ruin all of Eric's hard work, but I didn't want to lose my best friend either.

Suddenly, the lights turned on, and a deep, British-accented voice behind me said, "What are you doing here and why do have a hammer raised above your head?" I turned around and found Ben looking at me with his arms crossed, and one eyebrow raised.

"I- I should ask you the same thing!" I stuttered, "Why are YOU here?"

"Uh, well, it's interesting, really, um…." Ben uncrossed his arms, causing a wrench to fall out of his hands. He began to twiddle his thumbs with nervousness.

"Okay, you need to spill, _now."_

"Spill? I'm not a glass of water, I'm a person, you know."

"I mean, tell me, now."

Ben sighed, and then said, "I came to break the time-machine."

"Why? I thought you _wanted_ to go home."

"That would not be true. The truth is, I don't hate it here, even though I never did try to imply that. I don't want to go home."

"Why's that?"

"You wouldn't understand, I don't think." Ben sighed again, "It's not as free back home as it is here. My parents," Ben stopped to look up at the ceiling, as if he was cursing them silently in his head, "My parents arranged a marriage for me, to a girl named Susannah Artley. I'm not very fond of her. But I can't tell my parents that, if I back out, it'll bring shame to my family, and I don't want that. "

"It's horrible to arrange a marriage!"

"Not where I come from."

"Ben, I'm so, so sorry. We come from completely different worlds, don't we?"

"Yes, we do, and I don't want to go back to mine."

"Well, I guess that depends on how much damage we can do to this bad boy," I said as I swung my hammer.

"You're not going to… _Kill_ me are you???" Ben's eyes grew wide, and he had an incredulous look on his face. "_Are _you???"

"No. I meant the time machine."

"Oh, it's a boy?"

"No, it's an expression."

"I thought it was a time machine…" I didn't think they had dumb blondes in 1775, I guess I was wrong.

After hitting the time machine about 40 times with the hammer, removing the fuel and various essential parts and throwing them away, Ben and I stepped back to admire our work.

"I think you'll have to stay here for awhile." I said, smiling.

"I think I'll manage."

Ben and I stepped down the stairs to get celebratory sodas from the kitchen. I pulled out two Cokes from the fridge, but Ben wasn't behind me!

I walked back into the living room, and Ben was crouched over a book I had been reading, the classic, Peter Pan.

"Who is Peter Pan?" Ben asked me as I crouched down also.

"You've never heard of Peter Pan?" I looked up and found myself looking straight into a pair of deeply confused brown eyes.

Ben shook his head, "No, I haven't."

"We've got the movie….we could watch it."

"Movie?"

"It's like, television, only longer, and with no commercials."

"I don't know what any of that is."

"I figured."

I sighed and walked over to the movie cabinet, and pulled out Peter Pan, the live-action movie with Jeremy Sumpter, and put it into the DVD player and started to set it up.

I was so tired, with it being so late (or early, however you would like to put it), it was hard to keep my head up and pay attention to the movie. I put my head on Ben's shoulder, and the last thing I saw was Jeremy Sumpter's gray-green eyes, looking down at the camera.


	4. Chapter 4

My eyes fluttered open, I had heard something. My head was still resting on Ben's shoulder, and the Peter Pan DVD menu was still playing.

I heard a yelp, which woke Ben up, followed by Eric rushing out into the upstairs hallway that looked out over the living room.

"Huh?" Ben mumbled, the lack of sleep was showing in his eyes as he said it.

"The time machine's broken! Someone's wrecked it!"

My mom dashed out from the kitchen and said, "But nobody knows about that lab but us!"

"That means one of us must have done it!"

My mother immediately looked at me; she could never have thought that Ben had any part of it, for all she knew….he WANTED to leave.

"I just, didn't want to lose my only friend." I said.

"Honey, you have tons of friends," said my poor, confused mother.

"Name one."

"Katie, you hang out with her a lot."

"Not since I found out she was just using me."

"What about that other girl, Martha?"

"She moved."

"When was that?"

"Three years ago!!! Mom, really, Ben's the only friend I've got, and I don't want to lose him." With that I got up, went out to the porch, and sat on the swing outside.

Ben soon came out and said, "Your mom said that we could spare a week to 'hang' out before they send me back."

I looked up, I guess it was better than him leaving tomorrow, but it wouldn't be enough time to say goodbye forever.

"Then let's think of a plan…."

Week with Ben Plan

Monday- Have movie marathon

Tuesday- Go to the Santa Monica beach & pier

Wednesday- Go to the mall

Thursday- Go to Disneyland and California Adventure

Friday- Day of nothing planned

Saturday- Ben goes home 

I took my list back to my mom, and she said, "Oh, I suppose we can do that, we haven't been to Disneyland in years."

That was Sunday, and that meant we had to get the errands done today.

I dragged Ben into the garage. I turned on the light, and started toward the back of the garage. That's where the bikes were. I pulled out the two mountain bikes, one black, and one red. They were given to Eric and I two Christmases ago, and we hadn't outgrown them, but ever since Eric got his car (a 1969 Mustang, restored), his bike had been neglected.

We rode down to the shopping center near my house in Rancho Santa Margarita. First we stopped at Tilly's, for a bathing suit for Ben, but I swore to myself that if he tried to get a tiny Speedo, I'd kill him.

He didn't. Ben headed straight for the board shorts, a personal favorite of mine, even. He pulled out a pair of black and camouflage Quicksilver board shorts. I had to admit, for being from a time older than my entire grandparent's ages put together, he had nice taste.

I forced him to go into the dressing room, and come out with the pair that fit the best. He did, so we headed over to the rash guards, because, well, who knew if he'd need one, but I'd feel much better if he WAS wearing a shirt…. So he was gonna get one.

Second we rode over to Blockbuster, and rented some great movies including, Pirates of the Caribbean, E.T, Jurassic Park, and Star Wars. And then we got some Disney animated movies, like, Sword in the Stone, Pinocchio, Fox and the Hound, we also got some junior mints, whoppers, jujubes, gummy worms, because you have to admit, you can't have a movie marathon without candy, well, okay, you can, but you'd have to be some kind of psycho path not to.

I woke up to something licking my face. I didn't dare open my eyes, I was kind of afraid to find out what, or who, was licking my face. But when it wouldn't quit, I did.

It was a little basset hound puppy. He was white with tan spots, and had very deep, dark brown eyes, and he had a very pink tongue, and a leathery brownish-black nose. I picked up the dog, and looked over at the clock; it was 7:00, why hadn't Ben woken me up at the usual 5:30 with that stupid drum? Had Eric already sent him back? He couldn't have, we HAD a deal! But it would be just like that rat to do this to me.

I ran across the hall to the guest room, throwing open the door, Ben wasn't there, but the bed was undone, and messy, so he'd been in it, he hadn't been sent back last night.

I ran downstairs with the puppy in my arms, and skidded to a halt at the entrance to the living room. Ben was sitting there, stacking the DVDs we'd rented, and not paying any earthly attention to the fact I was standing there, awestruck, watching him.

He turned and saw me, when he did, he just said, "So… You found him…. Can we have omelets for breakfast?"

I laughed, "Sure," so we did.


	5. Chapter 5

"Why does Pinocchio go with the fox and the cat, can't he see that they are no good?" Ben asked later that day.

"He's a puppet; did you expect him to be smart?" I replied, petting the dog, which was curled up between Ben and me, asleep.

"Well the cricket talks, I didn't know WHAT to expect."

I rolled my eyes, "Don't take it so literally, you'll enjoy it more."

After watching the Fox and the Hound, the poor guy was so confused it was almost sad. I walked into the kitchen, to make sundaes, and when I walked back out, this is what I saw; Ben kneeling down near the dog, with his butt up in the air, "Do you talk like Copper does in the movie? Can animals talk in the future?"

The dog just looked at him like, "Wow, you are pretty stupid, huh? Will I be able to get you to play fetch?"

I laughed, and Ben stood up, "He doesn't talk."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"But, why not, Copper talked?"

"Because animals, in this century at least, only talk in movies."

"All right," Ben said, "How was who-knows-how-old Genie fooled by Aladdin?"

"He's a 'street rat'"

"Huh? He doesn't LOOK like a rat." Poor, poor, confused, Benjamin Drake.

"No, the term means he's street smart, he can get along on his own, he knows how to trick people, and is a quick thinker, get it?"

"Yes."

"Like I said, don't take it so literally."

Ben and I sat on the bus the next day, with our back packs with beach towels and money for the pier, in our rash guards and board shorts. People were looking at us, like we were fish out of water, and in a way, I guess we were. I sat back against the seat and sighed, this morning had been really hectic.

"Alyssa, I can't take you to the Santa Monica this morning." My mom had said, "I have to go to work."

"Then how are we supposed to get there?" I asked.

"Why don't you take the bus?"

"The _bus_?!"

And like I said, I'm riding the bus. I never thought I would EVER ride the bus, outside school field trips and such.

I barely know how to ride the bus, what I mean is, how is the bus driver supposed to know where my stop is? How am I supposed to know when to get off? Will he/she tell me when my stop comes up? Will he/she even take us to Santa Monica in the middle of March? These are questions that I would have liked to have had answered, but of course they weren't.

Ben sat beside me, looking down at his feet, (clad in rainbow sandals) "How much longer will this take?"

"I don't know."

"Why not?"

"Because I haven't been here for a long time, and don't remember how to get there, therefore, I don't remember how long it takes."

"Oh, okay."

"We should go to the beach first." I told Ben as we stepped out form the bus.

"Ok."

Ben and I rented boogie boards, I didn't know how to surf, and certainly Ben didn't either, so boogie boards would have to do.

"What do I do with it?" Ben asked as we stepped into the water.

"You…" I sighed, "Come with me."

I led Ben further into the water, "Put your body up onto the board, and use your arms to propel you farther,"

"Okay." After about an hour, I lost Ben, and believe me, I know how stupid that sounds, "How do you lose a guy?" and believe me, I mean that in the physical way, not the relationship way, but I seriously couldn't find him!

"Ben, where are you?" I shouted, I ran into the water, and paddled into the middle of the water, I saw a figure, sinking into the water slightly. "Could that be Ben?" I thought to myself.

My heart was racing, what would happen if I _couldn't _find him??? I dove down to the figure, and pulled it up to the surface. It was definitely a guy, a blonde one, but I didn't have enough time to worry about who it was just yet. I dragged him to the surface. I laid him out flat on the sand.

It was Ben. I bit my lip; I didn't think he was breathing. I put an ear to his chest. He was breathing; I thanked God in heaven for that one, I did NOT want to have had to perform CPR, and yes, I do know how to do CPR.

But how was I supposed to revive him? I tapped the side of his face lightly, so I wasn't like, slapping him or anything.

Ben's eyes fluttered open; he looked me in the eyes, "Alyssa, what happened?" His brown eyes were full of confusion, "Are we still in Santa Monica?"

"Yes, but something happened, I don't know what, that made you start to drown. Luckily I found you in time that you were still breathing."

"Thanks. Alyssa?"

"Yes?"

"I'm hungry, can we go eat?"

"Sure." I laughed; at least his appetite hadn't changed.

We ate at Bubba Gump's Shrimp Factory, but poor Ben didn't have any earthly clue what half the things on the menu were.

"What is a Hubba Bubba Popcorn shrimp?"

"It's like, fish, called shrimp, and it's like in bread, I think, I don't know, but it's good, I've tried it."

When the waiter came to take our order, I ordered the kid's Hubba Bubba Popcorn (go figure), and a blueberry lemonade. Ben just asked to have the same thing, it's not like he'd have any idea what to get.

When our food got here, Ben keep talking about how good his food was, over and over again, it was beginning to get on my nerves, when he stopped. His eyebrows furrowed, but he shook it off and continued to eat his food, only this time, silently.


	6. Chapter 6

Walking around the pier was fun, and so was going on the rides, but something really seemed to be bothering Ben. Finally, he stopped and asked me, "Why are those girls following us, and why do they keep looking and pointing at me?"

I looked behind us, and I saw Ben was right, there was a group of about five or six girls following us, and indeed, they WERE staring, and pointing to Ben, followed by sparattic giggling fits.

I really stopped to look at him. I hadn't really before; not from the perspective of any normal girl.

He had light blonde hair, with occasional brown streaks. His deep, dark brown eyes were filled with intelligence and sadness. He had tan, muscular arms and legs. His rash guard was still wet, and was clinging to his stomach, revealing a well-formed six-pack of abs (which I'm guessing is tan as well).

"Ben," I laughed, from just about any girls' point of view, he would be, well…. "You're hot."

"No I'm not!" Ben said, putting his hand up to his forehead, and then feeling his arm, "Am I?"

"No, um…. Gorgeous is another good word for it I guess."

Poor Ben still looked really confused, what _else_ is new…

"You look good, what I'm saying is, Ben, those girls think you're cute."

"Oh no, not again!" and he ran straight around the corner, and into the boy's bathroom.

"Hey," one of the girls who had been following Ben said to me, "Is that incredibly hot guy your friend?"

"Yes," I rolled my eyes, "He is."

"Could you set us up?" Oh no! Not another Katie, only THIS one wanted me to play cupid!

"You know, I don't think he's your type."

"What do you mean? He's hot, 'hot' is my type."

Another one of the girls came up to me and said, "Where did he go anyway?"

"He ran away in fear of you fashion obsessed zombies." I didn't know If this was quite true or not…but I know the type, and all the others of that type were always fashion-obsessed.

The girls must have taken offense to it, because they left.

I walked around the corner, and stood outside the men's room door, "Ben?"

He stuck out his head, "Are they gone?"

"Yes."

"Phew, that's good news." And he stepped out of the bathroom.

"So what was that all about, anyway?"

"They reminded me of Susannah."

"You mean she was guy-obsessed too?"

"No, but she was, 'clingy' as you say."

"Oh, too bad for you."

"Yeah, I know."

"Maybe you should kill her." I said all sarcastically.

"Believe me, I'd like to." I'm not sure if he was being sarcastic too.

I laughed and dragged him into the roller coaster line.

Ben and I stood at the edge of the pier, watching the sun go down. In the last few moments before the bright ball of orange light sank down into the horizon, the world seemed so at peace, for once.

Ben looked over my shoulder, and he looked very puzzled. "How in the world can they breathe?" he said, his face contorted with concern.

"Who," I asked, I had been completely absorbed in the sunset, that I hadn't paid any attention to the world going on around us.

"Them," Ben pointed to a couple about ten feet away from us, making out, or as I like to call it, "sucking face", because that is what it looks like.

"Ugh, I don't know, but it's gross. I hate seeing them do that, it's sick."

"Why don't you know?"

"Because I'm not a zombie who likes to suck face."

Ben laughed; I guess the name was pretty self-explanatory, even for a 1775 drummer.

"What's a mall?"

"It's a big building filled with a lot of little stores inside."

"Ok…"

My mom pulled up to the main entrance to the Mission Viejo Mall and said, "Just call Eric when you want to be picked up, okay?"

"All right mom."

Ben and I stepped out of the car, "Will there be any….boy-crazy-zombie girls here at the mall?"

"Only after school's out, unless they're ditching."

"Ditching?"

"Not going to school without an excuse, skipping it."

"Why would they do that?"

"Because they are only concerned about who's hot, what they wear, what their 'boy toys' wear, and who their 'boy-toys' are. For this they are almost certainly destined for a life of failure."

"Oh, okay."

We walked through the double doors, and sitting there by the fountain, were the girls from Santa Monica, only this time they weren't clad in bikini tops and Bermuda shorts.

The one I assumed to be the leader came up to us with her "posse".

"Oh look," one of the other girls giggled, "It's the 'my-friend's-too-good-for-you' girl."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever."

"You're probably just jealous."

"Of what, exactly? You're single-digit IQ? I don't think so."

"You're a funny one, aren't you?" and then the leader of the zombies turned to Ben, "So, who are you?"

But this time, he had no where to run from her.

"I'm Benjamin Drake."

"Oh, you've got a cute name to match you're cute face. My name's Marissa."

Marissa started to twirl her finger around Ben's cowry-shell choker.

"It's…..nice to meet you, Marissa, but….I have to," Ben stopped and was obviously looking for an excuse, "Go see a movie."

Bad move Ben.

"Ooh, I could see it with you."

"Actually, I don't want to see it anymore." I hate to admit it… But this was kind of fun to watch, "I have to… I have to…I have to….." Ben was obviously getting very nervous.

I started to mouth "Bathroom, bathroom."

"I have to go to the backroom."

"Oh, you work here? I'll make sure to come more often."

"Um…Um….I-I-I meant that…."

I mouthed, "Bathroom," again.

He moved over next to me, and started to stutter again. Ben's eyes grew wide, and I saw that he was looking at a couple sucking face by the fountain. "What the hell was he thinking?" I thought.

Ben suddenly grabbed me and kissed me flat out on the lips.

The only good thing that I can report about it was that the girls finally left.

"Never do that again." I told Ben as we left the fountain.

"I didn't plan to." He replied.

"Good." Ben was looking down at his feet, like he really thought I hated him for it.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. At-at least the girls, uh left, right?"

"Right, why are they like that?"

"Why's who like what?"

"The girls in this century, why are they like that?"

"Not all the girls in this century are like that."

"I know, you're not like that, but why are they?"

"I don't know Ben, probably because they are good-looking-guy obsessed."

"Oh, okay." I don't really think that he understood, but at least he dropped the subject.


	7. Chapter 7

"Okay mom, we'll meet you back here at six thirty." My mom and Eric were going to wander around Disneyland together, while Ben and I would do the same. We were going to eat dinner at the blue bayou at six thirty, and then we planned meeting up again at eleven thirty, so that we could leave at eleven forty-five, but my mom is a total shopping junkie. Which, of course, means that we'll be wandering Downtown Disney, dragging ourselves aimlessly into this, that, and the next shop, downing cups of coffee, of some type or another any chance we get, just to stay awake. This also meant that we'd probably meant we'd end up leaving more around twelve to twelve thirty.

"So….what are we going to do first?" Ben asked as we walked past the City Hall building.

"Um…go on Space Mountain."

"Huh?"

"You'll see…"

As we stood outside the Space Mountain sign, "How is space a mountain? I don't get it."

"It's like a roller coaster with an outer space theme. You know, lots of stars and stuff."

"Oh, okay." But it clear that he was far from understanding what I meant.

We stepped out of the ride and into the space mountain bathroom/picture shop area about fifty minutes later.

"That ride was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! But, Alyssa….." Ben whispered into my ear.

"Yes?" I asked, looking up at our picture on the screen. We looked like TOTAL dorks. Sitting in the front row, Ben had a startled look on his face from the sudden stop, and I had my arms in the air, while my mouth was hanging open.

"I….um….need to take advantage of the hospitality of the owners…."

"Bathroom's over there."

"Thanks."

Despite the dorkiness and all, I bought the picture, I kind of liked it, and I figured the picture might come in handy.

We went on all the major roller coasters, The Matterhorn

Bobsleds, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, having been on Space Mountain already, we stopped in front of Splash Mountain.

Ben looked somewhat skeptical. "What is WRONG?" I asked him.

"I don't think I want to go on it."

"You didn't want to eat the omelet, but you did anyway, and you liked it."

"Okay…well, I guess I'll give a try."

"That was a lot of fun!" Ben said afterwards, but he didn't look like he quite meant it.

"Then how come it doesn't _look_ like it?"

"Well….because now I'm all wet, even my pants…and it's not very comfortable."

I laughed, "I know that."

Standing in the stretching elevator room at the Haunted Mansion, poor Ben looked so scared…he looked pretty confused too…and…nervous. He kept looking over his shoulder, I only wondered why.

Cautiously, I took a look over my shoulder, what I saw was a girl, a girl with strawberry-blonde and reddish hair, with a pretty face, and blue eyes. The girl was wearing a green halter top that showed off a whole lot of her chest. She was OBVIOUSLY with her family (although, what father would let their daughter dress like that?), and she kept making kissy faces at poor Ben, and "I am SOOO going to KILL you" faces at me.

"Stop looking at her." I told Ben, "And she'll stop."

"I'm scared."

"We're in an elevator, it's not REALLY stretching."

"That's not why! That girl looks almost exactly like…Susannah."

I rolled my eyes, "She's not going to get you."

Despite my feeble efforts to reassure him, I saw a HUGE drop of sweat fall off his face, even though the room temperature had to be below seventy degrees.

We stepped out of the ride, and who was waiting for us at the exit? Yep, the Susannah look-alike.

"Hello." She said in a voice that I recognized as someone who was trying too hard to sound sexy. "My name is Susannah Artley IV. What's yours?" Ben looked at me all scared; he gave me a look like he wanted to scream "How the HELL did this happen to me?"

"Umm….my name is…my name is…my name is…Eric Diamond."

"Oh….well then, Eric, would you like to come with me to dinner?"

"Ummm…" he looked over at me for help.

"No, he cannot." I said ripping his arm from her grasp, "He's my" I swallowed hard, "_boyfriend."_ I think I have just _died_ but I will continue, "_You_ can't have him." Ben looked at me with incredible gratitude, and he sighed.

Susannah IV looked at me like, "I'll get you later."

"Bite me." I told her. She scoffed at me, but then she left.

"You'd better be grateful."

"I am, very much."

We headed off to Indiana Jones, the wait was only about twenty minutes long, but I snapped a few pictures of poor, confused Ben disgusted at this, puzzled by that, or avoiding stepping on such-and-such.

The videos that told you about the temple of the forbidden eye, where to put all your stuff, and 'don't look into the eye' played. I rolled my eyes, "What idiot would believe that _crap?_" I thought to myself.

"I'm not going to look into the eye. I'm not going to look in the eye; I'm not going to…" Oh yeah, _that_ idiot.

"That crap isn't true; it's just supposed to add some interest to the wait in line. It's not true."

"I'm superstitious, so I'm still not going to look in the eye."

"Okay, fine, you do that."

When we eventually got into the jeep, we went through the middle door, and then eventually to the spear room. As we drove through it, one of the air spouts (posing as a spear being shot from the wall, like the room was booby-trapped) must have hit Ben in the head, because he looked REALLY irritated.

"What it UP with you?"

"That is SO going to mess up my hair."

"You, Benjamin Drake, are the VAINEST boy I have **ever** met."

He just looked at me with a dead serious look on his face, "Is there something wrong in this century with a boy caring about how his hair looks, it was bad enough you made me cut it."

"It just makes you seem kinda…..never mind." I was going to say gay, but way-back-when, that used to mean 'happy', so he wouldn't have understood it. I guess he didn't really care about what I meant, because he never asked about it.

We crossed over that bridge, right in front of the idol, I realized that there was a giant snake that would be coming up on Ben's right, and he was going to be the closest one to it. I hoped he wasn't going to take it too literally…

He screamed, I didn't think that he would, but, then again, he'd cried when his hair was being cut off. So I shouldn't have been surprised, but I still was, because, well…he's a boy; he's not supposed to scream at a _fake_ snake.


	8. Chapter 8

We were beginning to get really hungry, so we went over to the Plaza Inn, where both of us got that HUGE plate of pasta, and a Coke. What I don't understand, is how Ben finished it all. The last time my mom and I came here, we shared the same sized plate of pasta, and had barely finished it. Ben, on the other hand, finished it, and downed the Coke, and he STILL looked disappointed, like he was still hungry, seeing as how I was full after about only HALF of mine, I handed it over to him. He started to shovel it in.

That's when a boy walked up to us, "If I were you," he said, "I would get a smaller appetite."

"If you were me," Ben replied, "I'd be ugly."

The boy looked a little hurt, as if he's only been trying to help, and in turn, Ben had deliberately insulted him.

"Ben, that was really rude." I whispered to him.

"Well, it was rude for _him_ to comment about my appetite!" Ben said it as if the boy wasn't even there.

I looked over at the boy, I'm so sorry." Then to Ben I said, "Not everything Peter Pan says is acceptable to SAY to people! Come on, you should **know** that!" In case you didn't know, Ben's remark was a line from the live-action Peter Pan; obviously, he had taken his admiration of Peter a bit too far.

"Oh THAT'S where he got it!" the boy laughed all of a sudden, "I thought he was serious!" he paused for a few seconds when Ben didn't say anything, "You-you _were_ joking, right?"

Ben laughed, and then nodded. The two of them started to laugh together, boys.

"That's a good one; I'll have to remember that."

"Yeah…as long as you never use it on me."

"I won't, not on purpose, anyway."

The boy started to walk away, but then he turned around, "By the way, I LOVE your accent."

"Thanks?" Ben told him, his mouth full of pasta.

We headed over to California Adventure, and we got fast passes for California Screamin' because there was NO WAY I was going to wait in line for two hours to go on a three and a half minute ride.

We just kinda wandered around the smaller park for a little while, waiting for the fast pass time to come up, but then I noticed the line for the Grizzly River Run was only thirty minutes long….so Ben and I got onto the ride.

"Is this ride like Splash Mountain?"

"Well…you will get a little bit wetter." I decided not to tell him that he would get a lot wetter than just "a little bit."

"Oh, okay then, sounds okay."

Ben and I climbed into the raft, the wait was a little less than thirty minutes, and we started to move.

"I don't think we'll get very wet on this ride." I suppose he thought that because he and I were each sitting on either side of an edge, that we wouldn't get very wet, either that or, he thought that because the spot we were in was very calm. Boy was HE in for a surprise.

We started to get into the rough water area, and the splashes kept getting bigger, and bigger, and BIGGER! But I guess Ben still didn't think we were getting very wet….that's when the drop-and his surprise- came. We started going down the big drop, we had started the drop with the other edge going down, but with our luck, the raft turned, and Ben and I were there at the end of it.

Just then, the world seemed to moving in slow motion, a HUGE wave of water loomed over us, I saw Ben had a defeated look of "Why Me?" on his face, and then it came splashing down upon us, soaking us thoroughly down to –and in- our tennis shoes. Ben looked totally shocked, his mouth was open, his eyes closed, with his arms stationary near his shoulders.

"You-you said we'd only get a little bit wet." He stuttered at me.

"Sorry, I figured you wouldn't get onto the ride if I didn't lie."

"Alyssa, you could have at least warned me my underwear would be wet."

"T.M.I."

"What?"

"Too much information, T.M.I"

"Oh, well sorry, but it's true."

Ben hadn't noticed the loop. Seriously, on California Screamin', as soon as he saw the loop, he had a TOTALLY scared look on his face!

"I don't like that one as much as Space Mountain."

"I don't know which one I prefer."

"Well…I like Space Mountain better. California Screamin' isn't indoors. "

"What does that have to do with, um, _anything_?"

"Well, if it rained it could –quite possibly- get my hair wet."

"Walking around the park, if it rained, would get your hair wet."

"Not if I had an umbrella or a hood, but on that ride, I wouldn't be able to use my umbrella, nor-I think- would my hood stay upright on my head."

"What _is_ it with you and your hair?"

"I happened to be attached to it, literally." Ben is definitely the vainest person I've met.

After that, we stopped to go to the Hollywood back lot, where we stopped at the animation workshop. We looked at all the things to turn, and crank up to see an animated clip, Ben was very impressed.

"Is that how they make animated movies?"

"Yes. I guess so."

We stopped in the Beast's library, where we took quizzes to see which Disney Characters we are most like.

"You are most like Tinkerbell." The machine told me.

Ben took the seat. When he was done, "You are most like Simba!"

"Aw… I wanted it to say that I'm most like Peter Pan, I don't even know who the heck _Simba_ is!"

I rolled my eyes, and we kept on going. We voiced a part of an animated scene in Ursula's Grotto, which was pretty darn fun. And after Ben told me that he NEVER wanted to go on the Tower of Terror again, we went back to Disneyland.

Not having been to Fantasyland, we stumbled over to that side of the park. I say stumbled because, well, Ben, after seeing something on the map, kept on pulling me toward Fantasyland so fast that I ended up knocking into people, and tripping quite a few times.

"What was _that_ all about?" I gasped at him.

"You didn't tell me that there is a Peter Pan Ride! You silly girl!" and then he dragged an out-of-breath me onto the ride.

I really don't know what the thing is about Ben and Peter Pan, I mean, I had always thought that Jeremy Sumpter was hot….but I don't think Ben's gay (….no, he's not), so that couldn't be it….

Then, after being pulled onto Peter Pan another four or five times, we went on the rest of the rides Fantasyland had to offer….

"And if you look over there, you will see the London Park in which Peter Pan and Tinkerbell reside…" our tour guide on the Storybook Land boat ride informed us.

"What?! Peter Pan?! Where?!" Then the stupid idiot of a boy that I call my best friend, looked over the side of the boat at a dangerous angle.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to stay in your seat."

"But I don't see Peter-" Ben fell in. He looked over the side to try to see Peter Pan, and he fell overboard. "Oh, now I see him!"

After not being able to stop the boat, Ben had to run through the water to the dock, where I stood waiting for him, with what I'm sure was a very pissed off expression.

"You can be SOOOO embarrassing sometimes." He just looked at me with his big brown eyes saying "Oops, sorry." His apologetic smile told me the same thing.

At four o' clock, Ben and I were passing by the benches and stuff near small world; we saw a large line forming from the nearby steps. "I wonder what character it is." We took a look and would you guess who it was? Ben's hero, Mr. Pan.

His eyes bugged out of his head, his face was shining with a sort of gleeful surprise.

"Oooh, oooh, we just HAVE to get our picture taken with him!" I sighed, what a retard I picked for a friend, huh?

So….we got in the long line to take a picture with Peter Pan, and as soon as we were up at the front, the Disney personnel told us that Peter had to "go back to never land for a little while" Ben drops to the ground and cries. No, seriously.

Peter Pan comes over and says, "Boy, _why_ are you _crying_?" I would also like to point out at this point that I have seen a fifteen-year-old boy cry twice in my life, while I had thought it would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Lucky me, of course, I would have hoped that the said boy wouldn't be someone that I happen to be friends with.

"I-I wanted to get a p-picture with P-Peter P-P-Pan!" and he went into another whole mess of sobs. How Pathetic!

"How old…_is_ he?" The Disney Personnel asked me.

"Fifteen." I answered him, I guess -unfortunately- he seemed to know I was here with Ben.

"Is he…_challenged_ in some way?" the personnel looked down at Ben, who was COMPLETELY drenched from the shoulders down.

"Uh….no, I don't _think_ so….he just has an unusual…love for Peter Pan." The guy dressed up as Peter Pan looked a little alarmed, "Not like _**that**_!"

The guy calmed down a little bit, "Well, I guess we could spare time for one more picture." He winked at me, which I answered by pulling out the camera, and handing it to the personnel.

Ben stood up, and wiped his eyes, stepped in towards "Peter" and me. The personnel snapped the picture and handed it back to me. I looked at the picture, Ben's eyes and cheeks were all red and puffy.

"Thanks," I told them when we were through taking the picture.

"Oh no problem." Pan-the-Man said winking at us, "Not for my biggest-if not creepiest or weirdest- fan."

So at seven twenty-five, we met my mom and Eric outside The Blue Bayou. We were seated for _maybe_ five minutes tops when our waiter came to take our drink order.

We ended up getting; ice tea (Mom), orange soda (Eric), Root beer (me), and chocolate milk (Ben).I don't know _why_, you would think that he would have gotten something else, right? But he seemed enthralled by the fact that milk and chocolate could be combined to produce a liquid substance.

I wasn't too sure what I wanted to eat, either the Cajon Salmon, or the Montecristo sandwich. Ben seemed to be searching for something or other on the menu, and was oddly silent. My mom would probably end up getting a steak and a salad. Eric would probably end up getting something he's never even heard of before, and then he'll end up loving it.

Ben, I'm not too sure about. Not only do I not know what he likes to eat (besides omelets and now chocolate milk), I don't even know what his attitude is towards new and 'I've never even heard of this before in my life' foods. Though I have a pretty good idea that his outlook on them is, "I'll try it if I have to." Whenever I begin to think that he can't surprise me anymore, he surprises and/or mortifies me beyond my own belief.

When our waiter came, I ordered the Cajon Salmon, my brother ordered something that none of us (including him) had ever heard of, my mom ordered a steak, but Ben? Ben asks him, the waiter, "Can I get an omelet."

"Uh, no sir, we stopped serving breakfast hours ago."

"Then….I'll have…what she's having." He pointed to me.

Our waiter left, and I asked Ben, "What _is_ it about you and omelets?"

"They're really good."

"You're retarded. I hope you've realized that." I don't think he has.

By the time we were done with dinner, it was eight fifteen, only an hour and fifteen minutes until the fireworks show, which I figured we ought to get a table in Fantasyland a little early, so that we could be able to see Tinkerbell.

At nine thirty-five, after the fireworks had been going on for a little while, I realized Ben wasn't as mesmerized as I'd thought he'd be.

"It's a little bit like when the bombs go off in the air, only, prettier." I would like to take the time now to say two things, one, I didn't think that Ben had actually seen bombs go off and two, he said _prettier_…..Ben is_ definitely_ different than any other boy I've met.

After the fireworks finale, we trudged back to Space Mountain again, and then to City Hall, where we met up with my mom and Eric.

My mom DID drag us around Downtown Disney, saying, "Oh! _Look_ at the things they've got in this shop!" We walked a Disney store (go figure, you wouldn't expect a _Disney_ Store in Downtown _Disney_? Please not the hint of sarcasm.)

"Oh _Alyssa_!" my mom said, picking up a jacket, with various Disney characters on it, in my size, "This is so cute, would you like it?"

"Ooh! Look, Peter Pan's on it!" Ben said pointing. Getting an odd, "What's up with _you_?" look from a five-year old.

"Yes, Mom, I'm a bit short on jackets…and that is cute."

We had to buy two Starbucks drinks, each, to stay awake while my mom dragged us into every shop…until one forty-five in the morning.


	9. Chapter 9

I woke up to find Ben, and Slightly (the dog, named after Peter's right-hand Lost Boy), two inches away from my face.

"So…..what're we going to do today?" Ben asked me.

"Umm….." I said, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, "I want you to make a list."

"A list of…_what_ exactly?"

"A list of….a list of the ten things you are going to miss the most when you leave."

"Okay, I'll go make you a list."

My List of Ten- By Ben

1. Alyssa

2. Peter Pan

3. Omelets

4. Indoor Plumbing

5. Slightly

6. Indoor Plumbing

7. Television

8. Indoor Plumbing

9. Space Mountain

10. Indoor Plumbing__

"You can go to the bathroom as much as you want."

"What do mean by that?" Ben asked, "Am I not allowed unless you tell me I can?"

"No, no, no, no, I had you write up this list so that I could fill your day up with those ten things.

"Oh….okay…I get it now."

So I set up the Peter Pan DVD for Ben in the living room, while I showered and got dressed and ready. Then I slipped out the back door and to the garage, and rode my bike to Borders, with fifty dollars in my wallet, in my backpack.

I locked up my bike on the rack, and then I stepped into Borders, in search of the fantasy book racks…

I found what I was looking for, and went to Target, to buy wrapping paper (we are never stocked up on wrapping and bags).

I left Target five and a half minutes later, with a medium-sized green bag with dark-green tissue paper. I stuck this bag in my backpack with my Borders bag, and rode on home.

Ben was waiting for me on the couch when I got back home, "I knew that you left, in case you were trying to hide that you did. I just don't know why."

"Sorry, I-I had to run a…an errand." I ran upstairs and threw the unpacked backpack under my bed."

The day went on, and we watched movies, and swam in the pool in our back yard, and had pizza for dinner. I told Ben and my family goodnight a few hours later, and crawled up into my bed, and fell asleep.

I woke up to Slightly licking my face. I wondered what was going to happen today at first, before I remembered that Benjamin was going home today. I wrapped what I had bought yesterday and left it on my bed.

I went down to breakfast, which was extremely gloomy for both Ben and I, but a very happy and enthusiastic meal for Eric.

I really don't understand what why he dislikes about Benjamin so much….

"Here you are Benjamin," my mother said as she piled an omelet on Ben's plate.

"Thank you Mrs. Diamond." Ben replied, "You look very nice today." Maybe Eric thinks Ben out brown-noses him. That's probably it…

Ben wasn't dressed in his uniform just yet…. He was wearing his red quicksilver shirt with black shorts.

"Why aren't you dressed in your uniform?"

"I don't want to wear it just yet…"

After breakfast, we all crowded into Eric's lab, around the time-machine. I handed Benjamin the bag. What he pulled out were hard cover editions of Peter and the Star Catchers, Peter and the Shadow Thieves, and Peter Pan. All of which tell the story of the famous boy who refused to grow up.

"Umm…you should read Peter and the Star Catchers, then Peter and the Shadow Thieves, and then Peter Pan, it'll make a lot more sense."

"Thanks" Benjamin told me. He stuck his hand for me to shake it, but I decided against it and instead threw myself at him in a hug. Poor Benjamin seemed a little nervous, but he wrapped his arms around me all the same.

"I'm really going to miss you Alyssa." Benjamin whispered into my ear in a hushed tone that would have melted any other girl just like the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz.

"I'm going to miss you too." I was trying hard not to cry, my only friend, was about to walk through the doors of a time machine, and would disappear forever. What a wonderful, happy life I'm sure to lead, yeah, NOT!!!

Finally I just couldn't hold the tears in, and one by one, they came pouring down my face.

"Can we hurry this up _please_???" Eric snapped at us. Benjamin pulled away from me; his dark brown eyes were sparkling with sadness. He stepped into the time machine, holding his bag and drum, with Eric. Ben waved to me and mouthed "Good-bye" as the doors closed, and the light flashed, and my best friend disappeared.


	10. Chapter 10

The next Monday, I stumbled into school, all alone and a little scared… Katie found me, "Not so brave," she scoffed in my face, "Without your _boyfriend_, are you?"

"Ben wasn't my _boy_ friend, he was my _best_ friend."

"Well, you're still a little, _scared_ without him, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not, not anymore." The two of us looked at each other; it almost became a stare down.

"All right students, since most of you aren't done with your reports; I am letting you do a little extra research time right now in class. Go ahead and get your computers." Mrs. Watson unlocked the computer carts.

Even though I had already finished my report, and I didn't figure that the computer would be much help, there wasn't much else to do for the next fifty minutes of class. So I pulled out my computer and Google searched "Benjamin Drake".

One website popped up, and I saw the clip of the article in question, "Benjamin Drake, Revolutionary War Drummer, born December 16th, 1761…." I clicked on the Link to: Unknown Historical Drake

Benjamin Drake, born on December 16th 1761, to William and Elizabeth Drake. Eldest of three children, his siblings named Annabelle and John Drake, lived to see the early 1800's. Benjamin, apprenticed to his father in the up keeping of the family shop, decided taking a break from his apprenticeship, would do him some good. Benjamin takes to drumming in the war at a feeble age of fifteen. Drumming was the only position in Washington's army that his mother, Elizabeth, would allow him to pursue, as it had almost certain safe return of her son. Benjamin did his civic duty, helping his general in charge. Benjamin paid with his life to save our first president; he died saving his general on June 22nd, 1776…

I didn't read the rest of the article. I felt sick; lucky for me (and the school) I was able to shut my laptop before I lost my lunch, right into Katie's hair.

"Mrs. Watson, may I please go to the nurse's office."

"I was going to send you there whether you asked to go or not. Katie, go to the bathroom so that you can wash out your hair."

Eric came to pick me up.

"I need to us the time machine."

"No, it's too much power, we, as humans should not have the power to change the course of history. To learn from it, we must, but to change it, we must not."

"Can you cut the moral crap, _Yoda;_ I need to save Benjamin from death."

"Oh! Well in _that_ case…._definitely_ not!"

"Why do hate him so much?"

"I do not hate him. I strongly dislike him!"

"But _why?_ He's nice, and funny, very vain I must admit, but he's a good guy."

"I just-I just _don't_ ok?"

"Eric, why? What is wrong with him in your book?" I looked into my brothers eyes, we were stopped, and he looked at me straight in the eyes.

"His sister…."

"What about Annabelle?"

"I met her; I went back in time on a test drive. About a month ago. I stayed in the past for awhile because…I-I loved her. When she was older, I looked it up and Benjamin died when she was ten. I met her when she was seventeen. I asked her to come back with me, to the future, because I did love her. I believe that I still do. But she said no. She said that because of her brother's death, she didn't trust another boy not to hurt her, or to break her heart. She was close to Benjamin, but when he died, she was devastated, and it broke her, and because of him and his loyalty to his General, I lost the only girl that I ever cared about." Eric sighed, "_That_ is why I do not like Benjamin."

"So you're saying that you would rather have _lost_ the Revolutionary War, _just so you could get a girl_?"

"I love her. I would rather have her and be a Brit any day."

"Our _independence_, Eric?" Eric refused to look at me the rest of the way home, and when we pulled into the driveway, I bolted out of the car, and up to the lab. I started up the time machine and I left for June twenty-first, 1776.

I sat down in the bushes to wait, and at dusk, I laid down to sleep, if stayed up all night, then I would not be able to pay attention to watch out for Benjamin.

When I woke up, I saw at a distance, a drum, sitting on the ground, and I looked a little to the right of the drum, and I saw Benjamin, l sitting down, helping a man in a wig get his foot un-stuck from a gopher-like hole.

"No!" I shouted, jumping up….and I started to run across the battlefield, dodging shots and cannon balls. I saw a soldier clad in red, British. He could not have been much older than sixteen. He loaded his gun, the General stood up and after shaking Ben's hand, started to run, Benjamin, not seeing the soldier, started to stand up, the British man fired, right as Benjamin stood up straight. And the bullet hit him in the chest.

Benjamin collapsed. I finally reached him. His eyes were open, and when he saw me, he smiled.

"Hello, Alyssa." His brown eyes sparkled with recognition; I noticed that as I knelt down next to him, the deep maroon blood stain at his chest grew steadily larger. Hoping to use it as a bandage, I ripped off Benjamin's uniform shirt. I ripped off a medium-sized piece that was not blood stained, and ripped it into strips, and wrapped them around his upper chest. As I was doing so, I noticed why the rash guard had clung to his stomach so nicely, he had a well-formed six-pack with very nice muscle tone; I guess lifting bags in Daddy's shop had paid off.

"Alyssa," Benjamin said, interrupting my thoughts, "What are you doing?"

"I'm bandaging up the wound until we can get you to the hospital."

"You-" Ben's breathing was getting very raspy, "And I both know that they can't do anything for this."

"Yes they can, we'll go just as soon as bandage it up to help the bleeding."

"You and I both know that I'm not going to make it through this."

"But you will, I promise that you will!"

Benjamin laughed a very raspy laugh, "You can't promise that."

"You're going to make it! I promise!" I started to cry, tears fell in large drops onto Ben's chest.

"So, this is how it's going to end, huh? On the battle-field, wrapping up a bandage?"

I remembered how a week and a half ago, Ben had been tying up my arm wound. I looked at my arm; there was a scar of about three and a half inches.

"Ben…"

"To die-" Ben took a last raspy breath, "Will be an awfully big adventure." He smiled, and his head went limp in my arms, and his body became dead weight. As I held his heavy, dead body, I looked down at his face; I noticed he had lovely, thick, long eyelashes, like a rock star's, which would forever remain closed. I remained to hold him in my arms, crying and sobbing, until the young British soldier came up to us.

"_You_!" I pointed to the British soldier, "You killed Ben!"

"_Who?"_ The boy asked my in an extremely snotty tone.

"Him," I pointed to Ben's dead body, "Benjamin Drake! You killed him!"

And then, I must admit, I said a few very nasty, four-letter words to the soldier, and then, I threw my fist into his face, and he fell to the ground with a broken nose.

Eric eventually came and found me, carried me home, and put me into my bed.

I skipped the rest of the week, and went in the next Monday to give my report.

Benjamin Drake

A Biography by Alyssa Diamond

Benjamin Drake, haven't heard of him, have you? Well, I've met him, and I definitely know him.

Eric Diamond, my brother, built a time machine, and I went with him to 1774, where Benjamin saved my life from a bomb. He was fifteen years old and he was a drummer in the war. His family included his parents, William and Elizabeth Drake, and his siblings, Annabelle and Lucas Drake.

Where is he now, you ask, you all saw him, just about three weeks ago. We sent him back to his own time, and Benjamin saved our country, and I witnessed it.

The General was a man down on the battlefield. A British soldier was loading up his gun; Benjamin looked up, and ran to save his General. He helped him up, and the General ran away from the British soldier. Benjamin stood up, right as the soldier fired. Now Benjamin was the man-down on the battlefield, but his foot wasn't caught, as the General's had been, Benjamin Drake was dying. In just a few minutes, he was dead.

Benjamin Drake was a man, despite his age, or what anyone else said. He risked his life, and lost it, for his commanding General, and that General became the first president of the United States, George Washington.

As I said before, you might not have heard of him, but Benjamin Drake, my best friend, has saved our country, paying with his life.

I sat back down in my seat, and I saw a girl lean over to me, "you saw your friend _die_?"

"Yes, I did."

"What did he look like?" I pulled one of the pictures I had taken at Disneyland out from my backpack, the one of us and Peter, and I showed it to her.

"Wow," she told me, "You had to see _him_ die? I would have died myself!" she laughed, and handed me back the picture.

A few months later, while working on a team project with a kid in my class….

"Hold on Alyssa, I'll be right back…" we were working up in the attic, and I saw a box out of the corner of my eye…

"What's in there?" I thought to myself, as my class mate had gone downstairs to retrieve more supplies. I lifted up the flaps, and I saw three books, seeming to be extremely old, used, and weathered. I lifted one out with care, the title, Peter Pan, was barely visible now. I opened up the inside cover, inside, it said:

Property of Benjamin Drake


End file.
